As I grew into double-figures as a child, my parents wanted to give me a greater sense of responsibility. Nowhere was this more prominent than in being able to leave the house without them in attendance. Meticulously arranged meet-ups with friends necessitated many minutes on the landline telephone to make sure we’d all turn up at the right place at … Read More
Explore the World with Rat Race!
Our passports were ready, our flights were booked, we were due to go on our first foreign family holiday….then a global pandemic hit and instead of lounging by a pool or exploring foreign coves, we were restricted to our home and immediate neighbourhood. So started lockdown 2020 for us. We had been so excited to take the boys abroad and … Read More
Free Educational Resources? Yes Please!
As a homeschooling, working from home parent, I am feeling the slog. These last few weeks have been particularly difficult without the long sunny days that accompanied the first full lockdown and made things feel, well, a bit brighter. I was excited when Daydream Education got in touch to let me know about their FREE educational resources! This could be … Read More
Half Term Holidaying in Lockdown
A lockdown February half term holiday is not what any of us hoped for. I recall last year feeling poorly with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but still managing to get the boys out for a farm visit, having play dates with friends and taking them to museum events. None of which we can do this year. February half term can often … Read More
Family Activities during a Lockdown Christmas
What a year. This time last year, as we were squeezing in last minute Christmas grottos, parting with pennies at school fayres and marvelling over sparkly seasonal events, none of us would have expected that 12 months on, everything would be virtually halted as the result of a global pandemic. The Christmas school holiday this year looks so different. Some … Read More
Covid-19 and the Traditional Family Christmas
With restrictions in place, I suspect it is fair to say that many of us are feeling the strain of Christmas more acutely than ever before. When have we had to choose a small and select group of family or friends to socialise with over the festive season, and stick to only seeing those few? How often do we have … Read More
5 Things That Were Better… as a child of the 1980s
Regular readers will know that, ever so occasionally, my husband Jacob guest posts on my site. As we sit and look back over the year of 2020, what we achieved, what we’re grateful for, it got us to thinking about our own childhood. We are both children of the 1980s. A time before the internet, when making a call from … Read More
Rediscovering sleep in challenging times
Sleep is something that can feel quite elusive at the moment. Organising for Christmas, rearranging social gatherings, events or even just trying to balance our business against the backdrop of the global pandemic and associated restrictions, is it any wonder that we feel anxious? Our sleep and ability to relax suffers as a result of this all, so I am … Read More
Big Little Tent Festival
Are you missing the festival scene this year? Then this is is the event for you! Created by The Caravan and Motorhome Club, the Big Little Tent Festival is set to inspire families to get camping on Wednesday 15th April 2020. Whether camping outdoors in your garden or creating a living room den, there are plenty of ways to join … Read More
Banana and Chocolate Loaf
We have a method of cooking when we are making things with our children that quite possibly won’t set them up to be rising stars of the culinary scene in years to come, but it works for us in the here and now. Sometimes we are very precise, but with our favourite well-known recipes our preparation goes something like this: … Read More